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is this the sound of a dying PSU???

Posted: Tue Apr 23, 2013 9:25 pm
by onlysublime
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1gnsRddWOk

I'm not sure it'll come through well in the video... it starts at the 0:03 mark (3 seconds). it sounds really weird and I'm pretty sure it's coming from the power supply. the sound is stronger when I'm running the CPU at 100% (like a video encode). it sounds like some kind of short circuit.

Re: is this the sound of a dying PSU???

Posted: Tue Apr 23, 2013 9:27 pm
by just brew it!
onlysublime wrote:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1gnsRddWOk

I'm not sure it'll come through well in the video...

Actually, it doesn't come through at all:
YouTube wrote:
This video is private.
Sorry about that.

Re: is this the sound of a dying PSU???

Posted: Tue Apr 23, 2013 9:32 pm
by onlysublime
ooops! sorry about that. :D

Re: is this the sound of a dying PSU???

Posted: Tue Apr 23, 2013 9:43 pm
by just brew it!
Hard to tell, but it could be just noisy inductors (which are annoying but generally harmless). Is this a new build, or an existing system that just started making noise?

Re: is this the sound of a dying PSU???

Posted: Tue Apr 23, 2013 9:55 pm
by onlysublime
it just started making noise like a few days ago. it was silent for a year or so now. I even dusted out the system before that recently.

well, if it's just an annoyance rather than a failing device, I can live with it.

Re: is this the sound of a dying PSU???

Posted: Tue Apr 23, 2013 9:58 pm
by just brew it!
Well... noisy inductors generally start out that way instead of developing over time. So we don't really know what it is.

Re: is this the sound of a dying PSU???

Posted: Wed Apr 24, 2013 11:28 pm
by onlysublime
alright. my computer started rebooting constantly.

removed the power supply. plugged in an old temporary one and things are back to normal.

argh. now I have to shop for a PSU.

Re: is this the sound of a dying PSU???

Posted: Thu Apr 25, 2013 12:32 am
by ludi
I wasn't able to view this earlier due to the work proxy blocking YouTube, but based on the sound and subsequent failure, you probably were hearing an arc "track" somewhere in the high-voltage transformer.

The "sound" of a short circuit is caused by arcing, so there you go -- but sometimes, particularly when high voltage is involved, the arc may not completely short out the source at first. As it continues, it creates more oxidation products which cause additional damage and/or allow more current to flow through the arc, until a more serious failure finally occurs.

Re: is this the sound of a dying PSU???

Posted: Thu Apr 25, 2013 1:13 am
by onlysublime
thanks for the explanation! it was really insightful.

my next thing is this... the now-dead PSU has a great functional fan. I had a case fan die awhile back, and I'd like to use the fan from the PSU as a case fan. but the plugs are different. can anyone point me to a guide on how to swap the plugs? I don't know what the terms to use to do a google search.

Image

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Re: is this the sound of a dying PSU???

Posted: Thu Apr 25, 2013 2:15 am
by Starfalcon
Its pretty simple, red and black are power and ground, the yellow on your case fan is for rpm monitoring. You can just snip off the 3 prong off the dead fan and cut off the 2 pin off the psu fan, then just splice the red and black on the psu fan with the 3 pin case fan one.

Re: is this the sound of a dying PSU???

Posted: Thu Apr 25, 2013 12:59 pm
by onlysublime
so is there any way to do this nice and neat so that you can't tell it was spliced together? or do I do it further up the cable and just tie tape around it?

Re: is this the sound of a dying PSU???

Posted: Thu Apr 25, 2013 1:07 pm
by Captain Ned
You can usually slide a 2-prong plug onto a 3-prong pin set.

Re: is this the sound of a dying PSU???

Posted: Thu Apr 25, 2013 1:18 pm
by Voldenuit
I always imagined a dying PSU would sound like Achmed the dead terrorrist. "Weeeeeeiiiuuu..........Ka-CHA~!!!!!"

Re: is this the sound of a dying PSU???

Posted: Thu Apr 25, 2013 5:01 pm
by ludi
onlysublime wrote:
so is there any way to do this nice and neat so that you can't tell it was spliced together? or do I do it further up the cable and just tie tape around it?

If you can't swap the pins in and out of the Molex connectors, then yeah, there's a way, but it requires soldering experience and a small supply of shrink-wrap insulation. You can obtain the tools at e.g. RadioShack, but if you're not familiar with their use, then you'll need to spend some time practicing while watching how-to videos on YouTube.

Also recommended: stop by your local home improvement store and pick up an 18 x 18" sand tile and some sick-on felt feet so that you can have a reasonably safe workspace for the soldering.

Re: is this the sound of a dying PSU???

Posted: Thu Apr 25, 2013 7:28 pm
by ronch
YouTube wrote:
This video is private.
Sorry about that.


Caught in the act! LOL!!!

Re: is this the sound of a dying PSU???

Posted: Fri Apr 26, 2013 7:00 pm
by onlysublime
Captain Ned wrote:
You can usually slide a 2-prong plug onto a 3-prong pin set.


oh!!! so I don't even have to change the plug? just plug it in? now it's a 50/50 choice I guess of which 2 pins to use...